Pillbox

Coinbox concentrates on cash

By Justin McGown  |  Sep 19, 2011
To obtain coins from the coin box, you can hire workers to attack the coin box or to collect the dropped coins. In this case, the coin box is being attacked with a machine gun and a giant fan. (credit: Courtesy of Armor Games) To obtain coins from the coin box, you can hire workers to attack the coin box or to collect the dropped coins. In this case, the coin box is being attacked with a machine gun and a giant fan. (credit: Courtesy of Armor Games)

Despite being free, many Flash games have a fixation on in-game currency. Combos and kills are used to rack up points used so players can buy bigger and better gear, while experience points are allocated to boost character stats. Super soldiers and small furry animals alike scramble to grab coins in these productivity killers. In Coinbox Hero, the latest quirky game from Armor Games’ jmtb02, there is little to do besides reveal and grab coins, and despite the intentionally limited gameplay, it’s still an entirely fulfilling experience.

The game features a nonsensical plot that leads to an amusing ending playing off the heir apparent to the Rick-rolling crown. The premise involves a pixelated polka band that comes across one of the mysterious boxes from the Mario games which reward passersby for smashing their heads against the ceiling with cold hard cash. Usually, that just translates into points, but here we see that scratch turned into a simple investment system. Those coins can be used to purchase weapons and abilities that yield even more money from the stubborn box.

Further aiding your lederhosen-wearing sprite in his labors are “helpers” that can be set to either attack the box directly or collect the money that has been smacked out of it. The gameplay never gets challenging, but in order to beat the game in a reasonable amount of time, some fully upgraded and kitted-out aids are a must. Seeing an entire squad of polka players wailing on a box with giant fans and filling the screen with coins collected by another character moving at NASCAR speed is as absurd as it is fun.

Leaderboards exist, although an Armor Games account is required to report your own score. The fastest times show that the game has been beaten in just over 10 minutes, although honing the skills and strategy required to achieve such a feat must take a considerable amount of time.

Visually, the game is not incredibly impressive. At least, not until the maximum coin count is purchased and up to 3,000 coins start bouncing around with impressive particle physics for a game that took a total of nine days to make. Unlike many jmtb02 games, the music won’t be stuck in your head for a week; appropriately enough, it is a simple, inoffensive polka.

This game is the latest in a long string of interesting flash titles by jmtb02, all of which are notable for slick presentation and surprisingly deep gameplay, running the gamut from the frantic puzzles of the Ball Revamped series to the satirical yet delightful Achievement Unlocked.

Coinbox Hero is a fun diversion and will appeal to anybody with time to kill and the ability to laugh at the idea of four German Mario wannabes using crossbows to save up for a tactical nuke.